The present invention relates to a service providing network and particularly, relates to a method and apparatus for measuring and managing a user Quality of Experience (QoE) in a network in which various wired and wireless networks are mingled.
Recently, according as a mobile communication service evolves from existing 2nd Generation (2G) and 3G to 4G, a network providing the mobile communication service has evolved in a form in which various mobile communication network equipments, and wired communication equipments such as a switch, a router, etc. that construct backhaul and/or backbone networks, etc. are compositively constructed. Particularly, in the advanced wireless network environment, according as various small cell equipments are emerging besides existing macro equipments, effectively measuring and managing a user QoE for a large number of network equipments is becoming the field of a core technology for service providers who administer networks.
Conventional service providers are employing a scheme of additionally installing separate equipments in a network, to measure and manage a QoE for network equipments. FIG. 1 illustrates a system construction of measuring and managing a QoE using additionally installed equipments in a network according to the conventional art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, to provide a service to a mobile terminal 101, a mobile communication network includes an Element Management System (EMS) 100, a plurality of base stations 120-1 to 120-N, a switch/router 110 and a gateway 108 and, additionally to measure and manage a QoE for each of equipments (or Network Elements (NEs)) included in the mobile communication network, includes a tester manager 102, an external tester 1 (transmitter) 104 and an external tester 2 (reflector) 106. That is, the conventional mobile communication network is using a scheme of installing additional equipments for a test, and using the additionally installed equipments to measure a QoE for each mobile communication network element. For example, when intending to measure a QoE for the base station 1 120-1 and the gateway 108, it measures the QoE by using a scheme of generating a packet for QoE measurement in the external tester 1 104 installed around the base station 1 120-1 by the control of the tester manager 102 and transmitting the generated packet to the external tester 2 106 installed around the gateway 108 and then, responding to this by the external tester 2 106.
However, because such the conventional QoE measurement scheme has to install and operate the separate equipments such as the external tester and the tester manager, there is a disadvantage of being inefficient in aspects of an installation cost and a maintenance cost. Further, because the conventional scheme measures in the nearby installed external tester instead of directly measuring a QoE in a network element that intends to measure the QoE, it is difficult to acquire the exact measurement result about a desired network element, and the actual condition is that measurement is difficult when a problem occurs in a corresponding network element itself. Also, there is a disadvantage in which the conventional QoE measurement scheme is dependent on a measurement protocol performed in the external tester, and the measurement result is subordinate to a function of the external tester.